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NATIONAL BROADCAST JULY 21, 2010

BROADCAST TO THE NATION

BY THE PRIME MINISTER

HON. BRUCE GOLDING

JULY 21, 2010, 8:00PM

Sincethe declaration of a State of Emergencyin the Corporate Area on May 23rd which was later extended to St.Catherine, the Police and the Military have been conducting an intensivecampaign to reduce the level of crime and violence that have plagued thecountry for many years. The results have been positive and encouraging. For thefirst time that most of us can recall, the criminal elements have been shakenand they are on the run.

Forthe first five months of this year, we were experiencing almost five murdersper day. We are now down to slightly over two per day. Infact, violent crime is trending downward tolevels not seen in this country for many years. But the battle has notyet been won. Two murders per day is still too high.  Two per day must become the high water markthat we must do everything possible to bring down.  Many of the vicious gunmen who will take yourlife without batting an eye are in hiding; they are not yet behind bars. Mostof the guns have been hidden; they have not yet been taken away.

Itwas the Security Forces that, based on intelligence, strongly recommended thata State of Emergencybe imposed in the first instance on May 23rd.  It was they who, in a letter I received onJune 14th – eight days before that first one-month period was due toexpire – requested that it be extended for a further three months and alsoexpanded to include St. Catherine. 

TheCabinet, after careful consideration and mindful of the extraordinary powers wewere invoking, decided to seek Parliament’s approval for an extension of onlyone month in order to allow for a proper assessment by the Security Forces asto whether any further extension would be needed.  We have relied on the professional judgementof the Security Forces and, in particular, the Commissioner of Police and theChief of Defence Staff. 

OnMonday, I received a letter signed by both of them urging that the State of Emergency be extendedfor one more month and that it be expanded to include the parish of Clarendon.This recommendation was again based on intelligence which indicated that asignificant number of criminal activists had fled into other communities andwere attempting to regroup. In addition, ongoing investigations and securingwitness statements that would enable the Police to charge several persons whowere detained under the State of Emergencywould be seriously hampered if they were released back into their strongholds.

Thecurrent State of Emergencyis set to expire at midnight tomorrow. Yesterday, we sought the approval of theHouse for a one-month extension. The Constitution requires that such aresolution be passed not just by a simple majority but by a majority of all 60members of the House, i.e., a minimum of 31. The government has 32 members inthe House. Four of these had to be off the island on official business. Twoothers are away for personal reasons including serious illness of a familymember. The support of the Opposition was therefore needed to authorize theextension. That support was not forthcoming.

Duringthe debate, the Opposition opposed the extension, ineffect opposing the strong recommendations made by the security forces, andwhen the vote was taken its members all abstained so we were not able tosecure the required votes. The State of Emergencywill, therefore, come to an end tomorrow. What this means is that the Policeand the Military will no longer have the benefit of emergency powers inpursuing their operations. They will have to revert to the normal powers thatexisted prior to May 23rd.

Letme be quite clear. Emergency powers must never become a permanent or evenmedium-term tool for fighting crime. But, given the level of crime in Jamaicaand the brazen and organized nature of that crime, it was considered necessaryin the short term in order to break the back of this monster, rid the streetsof the main perpetrators and create the conditions where normal policing can beeffective.

TheOpposition and others have advanced essentially two arguments: (1)  that the conditions to justify a State ofEmergency as set out in the Constitution do not exist; and (2) that there areadequate powers in the Constabulary Force Act including cordon and search toeffectively deal with crime. 

TheConstitution provides for a State of Emergencyin various circumstances including a state of war, natural or man-madedisasters, outbreak of disease or other calamity and the threat of action whichendangers public safety.  For too long,desperate criminals have kept the society in a state of crisis as far as publicsafety is concerned. We are not the only ones who have faced this type ofcrisis. The United Statesdeclared a national emergency after 9/11. It has been extended several times,the most recent being by President Obama in September last year and it is stillin place because it is considered that the threat still exists.

Secondly, the powers of cordon and curfew havebeen in place since 1994 but that has not prevented the crime rate fromreaching record levels.  We are in nodoubt that the State of Emergencywas necessary and a further extension would have enabled us to more effectivelydisrupt the criminal networks and put more of the criminals behind bars.

Iwish to thank the men and women of the Police and Military for the hard workand long hours they have been putting into these emergency operations.  I wish to commend them for the way in whichthey have conducted themselves. Wherever instances of abuse have been reported,the leadership has sought to investigate them and, where necessary, takecorrective action and those who are culpable are being brought to account.Residents in some communities have been inconvenienced but it is the price wemust ask them to pay to enable us to deal with the extraordinary phenomenonthat crime has proven to be.

Earliertoday, I met with the High Command of the Police and the Military. I hadpreviously directed them to prepare a strategic plan to enable the currentintensive operations to be continued after the State of Emergency would have ended. In light of whattranspired in Parliament yesterday, we discussed the fast-tracking of that planwhich must now be put into effect on Friday. Tomorrow, the Commissioner ofPolice and the Chief of Defence Staff will outline those aspects of the planthat can be divulged.

Ingoing forward, the Police and the Military will need to rely even more heavilyon the support and cooperation of the public in providing information on wherethe criminals are hiding, where the guns are hidden. We are putting in placeadditional measures to protect witnesses to better enable the Police to laycharges and secure convictions. We have secured the cooperation of the Courtsand the DPP in fast-tracking the trial of cases involving serious crimes andhigh-profile offenders.

Additionalequipment for the security forces is being procured and the government isworking with the private sector to secure additional vehicles within theshortest possible time. The six anti-crime Bills which have been passed byParliament will be brought into effect immediately after they receive theassent of the Governor-General. Work is being done as a matter of utmostpriority on the Organized Crime Act which will include specific powers to dealwith criminal gangs. Much greater use is now being made of the Proceeds ofCrime Act including the provisions for civil forfeiture to help in disablingthe activities of crime bosses.  Thedevelopment of a coordinated programme of social intervention to make personsin fragile communities, especially young men, less vulnerable to engagement incriminal activity is well advanced.

Wemust continue the battle. We cannot allow the gains that have been made overthe past two months to be lost. Too much is at stake. There is a sense ofrelief and growing confidence that many people throughout Jamaica have felt in recent times.No matter what obstacles are placed in our way, we cannot return to a situationwhere people were constantly fearful and frightened.

Theefforts of the Police and Military over the last two months have had agame-changing effect. We have seen what can be accomplished when there is thewill and unity of purpose. We have shown that the monster of crime can beconfronted and defeated. The non- extension of the State of Emergency is a setback but the battle can bewon, must be won and will be won.

MayGod bless all of Jamaica.

 

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